Sheep-hook.



J. A. ROSS.

SHEEP HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1909.

Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

R 0 W M N M Z. a if ,wunsw a GRAHAM C0,PHOTOMYHOGRAPHERS.WASIHHGIDM 0 C.

JOY-TN A. RGSS, 0F 'WEISER, EDI-1H6, ASSIGNOR, DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS,

0F ONE-THERE) TC? BUTTER IELD AND ONE-THIEVD T0 THELLIAM N.

SHEEli-IUOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr, 5, 15910..

Application filed January 38, 1909. Serial No. 1"?5,i91.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. Boss, residing at lVeiser, in the county orli ashington and State of; Idaho, have invented new and ImprovedConstruction of Sheep-Hook, of which the following is a specification Myinvention, which relates to the implement usually employed by sheepherders for catching and controlling sheep, primarily has for its objectto provide an implement of the character stat d, capable of beingquickly and economically designed to provide for easily letting the legoi the sheep into the hook for positively holding the sheep from kickingout of the hook, and at the same time fit about the leg with suiiicientfreedom so as to not injure the leg or hurt the animal.

With other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, my inventionoomprehends, in its generic nature, a crook member formed of resilientwire bent to shape to provide a loop and tapering entrance, and a latchmember that operates over the entrance to the loop that pushes back whenthe hook is slipped on the leg to let the leg in the hook, and whichautomatically closes the entrance of the hook or loop portion, andprevents the said hook from becoming disengaged from the leg untilmanually re leased.

In its more subordinate features, my invention consists in certaindetails of construction and peculiar combination oi parts, all of whichwill be hereinafter described, specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a perspective view that illustrates the manner the hook isapplied to the sheeps leg. Fig. 2, is a perspective view of the hook,the latch device being at its normal position, and, 3, is a view thatillustrates how the latch is moved back to tree the hook from the sheepsleg.

in the practical application of my invention, the crook or hook portionproper is formed of a single strand of spring wire of suitable diameter,that, midway thereof is bent upon itself to provide two parallel andclosely held strands, which strands, at their ends, extend straight toform a shank or stem 1 for fitting into a suitable handle 2,

having the usual ferrule or tip 20, as best shown in F 2 and S, byreference to which it will he also seen that the two strands aa are bentto form a loop or hook portion 6 of a diameter to freely engage aroundthe leg of the animal and then curved gradually outward away from theshank 1 to form a guard or guide arm 0, said arm and the portion 1)being relatively so curved that a restricted entrance or throat (Z isprovided between the arm 0 and the base b of the loop 6, the strands aaat the said point Z) being separated to form an elongated aoerture e,the purpose of which will presently appear.

Coopcratively connected with the hook is a latch member that forms anessential feature of my invention, and the same consists of a singlestrand of spring wire 10, of con siderably less diameter than the hookstrands, and whose upper end is bent substantially at right angles tothe remainder to form a cross head 12 of a width somewhat larger thanthe width of the throat or entrance (Z, the said wire from the head 12being curved inwardly and having its lower end 11 extended into thehandle 2. By making the cross head 12 wider than the throat the anglededge of the latch is movable between and guided by the two strands aathat form the guard or arm a, the said strands at the latch engagingpart being slightly separated as at c to accommodate the angle end ofthe latch therebetween.

To prevent the latch member 10 springing back too far between the armstrands o--a, the outer or free end of the cross head 12 is bentlaterally to term a finger 13, that rides on the outside of the strandsaa at the base Z) of the loop portion, the end of the latch having freeplay in the aperture c to provide for an easy back thrust of the latchwhen slipping the hook onto the sheeps leg. Another object in separatingthe strands aa at the base of the loop 5 to form the aperture 6 is thatit provides for readily fitting the bent wire latch in place, which canreadily be done by passing the finger or member 12 of the latch throughthe aperture 0 edgewise, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the advantages of my invention ant the manner inwhich it is used Will be readily apparent.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is:

1. As a new article, an implement of the character described, consistingof a crook formed of adjacent parallel Wire strands, the strands at theentrance to the leg receiving portion of the crook being separated, anda latch consisting of a spring wire secured at one end to the handle endof the crook, its other end being bent at right angles to form a crosshead, said cross head being movably held between the aforesaid separatedportions of the strands that form the crook.

2. As a new article, an implement for the purposes described, thatconsists of a crook portion formed of parallel strands closely heldtogether, and bent upon themselves and shaped to provide an inwardtapering entrance, a leg loop and a handle stem, the strands at theentrance to the leg loop being slightly separated, and a latch memberformed of a single spring member secured at one end to the handle stemof the crook portion, and normally crossed over the tapering entrancethereof, the outer end of said spring Wire being bent at a substantiallyright angle to form a cross head, the opposite ends of which extendbetween the separated ends of the crook strands, the outer portion ofthe cross head terminating in a lateral member, as set forth.

JOHN A. ROSS.

lVitnesses FRANK I'IAINS, BERNARD Haas.

